Sailing the River Rhine in our AmaWaterways BA stateroom.

How to Choose the Perfect Stateroom on an AmaWaterways River Cruise

Carol and I are just home from an AmaWaterways river cruise on the Rhine.

We greatly enjoyed our experience, and it allowed us to get another of Europe’s great rivers under our belt as well as the opportunity to sample another of the river cruise lines vying for your business.

I will be writing a series of articles sharing our experience sailing with AmaWaterways which you can find cataloged here.

Scroll down to the bottom of this article to learn how to obtain complimentary VIP perks when sailing with AmaWaterways.

However, if you’re reading this article, the chances are that you’re looking for some detailed information about AmaWaterways and you might find these articles helpful in your decision-making process:

• Our Review: Sailing with AmaWaterways River Cruises
• Inside our AmaWaterways Twin-Balcony Stateroom
• First Impressions: Boarding AmaWaterways AmaKristina
• European River Cruise: Direction, Upstream or Downstream

I suppose the greatest mistake we see when people are making decisions on a European river cruise is the tendency to base their decision significantly upon price. And while the price is certainly important, there are many other important considerations for you to make.  For example:

• Should you sail upstream or downstream?
• How important is a walkout balcony on a river cruise?
• How much space do I need or want in my stateroom?
• Is there a difference in comfort between the different decks on the ship?
• Should I book directly with the cruise line or use a trusted travel agent?
• As all of the river cruise ships are the same size, how many passengers does the ship hold?
• Does the ship offer a heated pool and hot tub, bicycles, fitness center, and a spa for massage, hair, and beauty?

Like anything else, when you’re trying to make a comparison of the various river cruise lines, you want to make certain that you’re comparing apples-to-apples.  Some river cruise lines will pack north of 190 people on the same size ship that other cruise lines might have only 106!  And, as you might imagine, the river cruise line with only 106 people is going to cost more than the river cruise line with over 190 people on board.

As I mentioned in our review article above, AmaWaterways just might be the perfect blend of luxury, value, comfort, and experience.  I suspect Goldilocks might say, “This is perfect.  Not too spartan, yet not too swanky”.

So, with all of that as background, let’s get started on exploring the available staterooms offered by AmaWaterways.

AmaWaterways has 17 ships sailing the world’s rivers with 15 of them sailing in Europe.  Further, 11 of those ships feature AmaWaterways’ unique twin-balcony staterooms.  Therefore, I am going to make the focus of this article on the twin-balcony ships and will be using the recently launched AmaKristina as our model.

AmaWaterways AmaKristina Deck Plan

Note: click the image above for larger view.

As you can see in the deck plan above, the staterooms are found on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd deck of the ship with the entry level rooms beginning on deck #1 and moving up sequentially through 9 categories all the way to the suites found on deck #3.

I’ll get into the specific categories later in my post, but you should also know that there are 79 staterooms that fall into four broad types:

1. 4 Suites
2. 45 Twin-Balcony Staterooms
3. 18 French Balcony Staterooms
4. 12 Fixed Window Staterooms

It is also worth noting that contrary to normal practices on the rivers, AmaWaterways also offers adjoining staterooms as well as staterooms that allow for triple occupancy.

OK.  Let’s begin looking at the various staterooms available.

Note: click all of the photographs below for larger views.  All photos courtesy of AmaWaterways. 

AmaKristina Suite – Violin Deck (deck 3)

The four suites feature a French balcony & outside balcony and measure 350 sq. ft. and come with the following features:

• In-room temperature control
• Deluxe hotel-style bedding with Egyptian linen, down pillows and duvet
• Spacious bathrooms with multi-jet showerheads
• Large wardrobe, full-length mirror, hair dryer, safe and direct-dial telephone
• Flat-screen TV that also works as a computer
• Entertainment on Demand system providing complimentary TV, movies and music library
• Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary bottled water replenished daily
• Desk and chair

Some river cruise companies are inclined to put their suites on the very back of the ship for expansive views.  Sounds good, but if you’re headed upstream, you’re going to feel like you are in one of those vibrating beds in a cheap hotel as the engine is right under you.  With AmaWaterways, the best suites are on the top deck and far away from the engine.

Category AA – Violin Deck (deck 3)

These are the second largest staterooms measuring 235 sq. ft. and there are 8 of them tucked right behind the suites mentioned above. They also feature a French balcony and outside balcony with the following features:

• In-room temperature control
• Deluxe hotel-style bedding with Egyptian linen, down pillows and duvet
• Spacious bathrooms with multi-jet showerheads
• Large wardrobe, full-length mirror, hair dryer, safe and direct-dial telephone
• Flat-screen TV that also works as a computer
• Entertainment on Demand system providing complimentary TV, movies and music library
• Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary bottled water replenished daily
• Desk and chair

Six of these staterooms have the ability to accommodate 3 people through the use of a love seat that converts into a bed instead of the two chairs pictured in this photograph.  As I mentioned above, this is quite unusual for a river cruise line to offer this option.

Category AB Cello Deck ( Deck 2)

These staterooms are identical to the Category AA staterooms listed above.  There are 10 of them measuring 235 sq. ft. and the only difference is that they are one deck below on deck two.

They also feature a French balcony and outside balcony with the following features:

• In-room temperature control
• Deluxe hotel-style bedding with Egyptian linen, down pillows and duvet
• Spacious bathrooms with multi-jet showerheads
• Large wardrobe, full-length mirror, hair dryer, safe and direct-dial telephone
• Flat-screen TV that also works as a computer
• Entertainment on Demand system providing complimentary TV, movies and music library
• Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary bottled water replenished daily
• Desk and chair

Six of these staterooms can accommodate three people, and two of them have the ability to connect to an adjoining room. Therefore, this would make a nice stateroom combo for a family.  The window you see on the right side of this stateroom is one of those peek-a-boo windows. With the flip of a switch in the bathroom, you can turn the window from frosted to clear to allow more light into the bathroom.

Category BA – Violin Deck (deck 3)

These staterooms measure 210 sq. ft. and are found on the top deck just behind the AA staterooms mentioned above.  The layout of these rooms is identical to the AA and AB staterooms.  However, they are 25 sq. ft. smaller and if you compare the floor plans, you’ll notice that the space between the desk and the bed is slightly smaller.

They also feature a French balcony and outside balcony with the following features:

• In-room temperature control
• Deluxe hotel-style bedding with Egyptian linen, down pillows and duvet
• Spacious bathrooms with multi-jet showerheads
• Large wardrobe, full-length mirror, hair dryer, safe and direct-dial telephone
• Flat-screen TV that also works as a computer
• Entertainment on Demand system providing complimentary TV, movies and music library
• Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary bottled water replenished daily
• Desk and chair

There are 12 of these staterooms with two of them with the ability to connect to the adjoining room.  Again, nice for families or couples wanting to travel together.  We stayed in one of these staterooms (#320) and enjoyed it greatly.  Click on our link at the top of this article to learn more about our stateroom.

Category BB – Cello Deck (deck 2)

These staterooms measure 210 sq. ft. and are found on the 2nd deck just behind the AB staterooms mentioned above.

They also feature a French balcony and outside balcony with the following features:

• In-room temperature control
• Deluxe hotel-style bedding with Egyptian linen, down pillows and duvet
• Spacious bathrooms with multi-jet showerheads
• Large wardrobe, full-length mirror, hair dryer, safe and direct-dial telephone
• Flat-screen TV that also works as a computer
• Entertainment on Demand system providing complimentary TV, movies and music library
• Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary bottled water replenished daily
• Desk and chair

There are 15 of these staterooms with four of them offering adjoining capabilities and two of them that can also connect with the slightly larger AB staterooms.

Category CA – Violin and Cello Decks (decks 2 &3)

There are 14 of these staterooms, measuring 170 sq. ft., spread between decks 2 and 3 towards the rear of the ship.  If you would prefer to spend less of your travel budget on your stateroom, but prefer to get some fresh air into your stateroom, then these are the staterooms for you. They all feature a French balcony design with a large sliding-glass door that opens the outside into your room.  Note: these staterooms do not offer a walkout veranda like all of the above staterooms

If you would prefer to spend less of your travel budget on your stateroom, but prefer to get some fresh air into your stateroom, then these are the staterooms for you. They all feature a French balcony design with a large sliding-glass door that opens the outside into your room.  Note: these staterooms do not offer a walkout veranda like all of the staterooms above offer.

Along with the French balcony, these staterooms offer the following features:

• In-room temperature control
• Deluxe hotel-style bedding with Egyptian linen, down pillows and duvet
• Spacious bathrooms with multi-jet showerheads
• Large wardrobe, full-length mirror, hair dryer, safe and direct-dial telephone
• Flat-screen TV that also works as a computer
• Entertainment on Demand system providing complimentary TV, movies and music library
• Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary bottled water replenished daily
• Desk and chair

Category CB – Violin Deck (Deck 3)

At 155 sq. ft., these 4 staterooms are located at the rear of deck 3 and are located just outside the door of the Chef’s table restaurant.

Along with the French balcony, these staterooms offer the following features:

• In-room temperature control
• Deluxe hotel-style bedding with Egyptian linen, down pillows and duvet
• Spacious bathrooms with multi-jet showerheads
• Large wardrobe, full-length mirror, hair dryer, safe and direct-dial telephone
• Flat-screen TV that also works as a computer
• Entertainment on Demand system providing complimentary TV, movies and music library
• Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary bottled water replenished daily
• Desk and chair

Category E and D – Piano Deck (deck 1)

All of these staterooms are on the first deck of the ship.  They are all 160 sq. ft and offer fixed windows that do not open to the outside. There are 4 E staterooms and 8 D staterooms with the D staterooms in front of the E staterooms and further away from the rear of the ship and engine.  Although, all of these staterooms are forward of the middle of the ship.

With two fixed windows, these staterooms offer the following features:

• In-room temperature control
• Deluxe hotel-style bedding with Egyptian linen, down pillows and duvet
• Spacious bathrooms with multi-jet showerheads
• Large wardrobe, full-length mirror, hair dryer, safe and direct-dial telephone
• Flat-screen TV that also works as a computer
• Entertainment on Demand system providing complimentary TV, movies and music library
• Complimentary internet and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary bottled water replenished daily
• Desk and chair

Tips for Choosing the Perfect AmaWaterways Stateroom

• Contrary to ocean cruising, you should give no attention or worry to ship movement on the rivers.  That’s right, no seasickness!  In fact, from a movement perspective, it is difficult to perceive when the ship is actually sailing without looking out the window.
• Having said that, you may want to give some consideration to engine vibration in the selection of your stateroom.  The closer you are to the ship’s engine, (rear and deck 1 staterooms) the more potential exists that you will feel a vibration from the ship’s engine when she is sailing.  As a great majority of the sailing is done at night, this will likely be most perceptible when you are in your bed at night.  And, if you’re sailing upstream (see my article about upstream and downstream), this is likely to be even more noticeable.  As I said in my article, I wouldn’t make a huge deal out of this.  However, if you’re a light sleeper, book a sailing downstream or get the highest and/or most forward cabin your budget will allow.  There is a reason that the more expensive suites are the highest and most forward cabins on the ship.  🙂
• While it’s rather difficult to know for sure, but one of the factors to consider is how much time you think you’re going to spend in your stateroom. If you think you’re going to only sleep in the room and that you would be happy to spend all of your waking hours in public spaces, then the smaller staterooms just might be your best choice.  However, if you’re on a long day sail, and you think you might like to spend some alone-time in your stateroom, then something larger or perhaps with an open-air option might be your best choice.  When we sailed the Rhine, we were sailing upstream, and it took us nearly 24 hours to get from Amsterdam to Cologne with the strong currents.  I really, really enjoyed the quiet time in our stateroom as we sailed along.  I had both of our twin-balcony doors open, and greatly enjoyed the fresh air and the light breeze coming off of the Rhine.
• While this is certainly a personal opinion, I don’t like staterooms that are smaller than 200ish sq. ft.  We’ve sailed in 150 sq. ft. in the past and it seemed that we were always tripping over one another in the stateroom.
• Make your booking decision as soon as it is practical for your schedule and wallet.  All of these ships carry less than 200 people, and the best staterooms ALWAYS get scooped up first and quickly.  If you want to have options, heed my advice or pick through the scraps.

Complimentary Perks for your AmaWaterways Booking

OK, you’ve decided that you want to book an AmaWaterways river cruise.  So, do you do it yourself and call AmaWaterways direct, or give us a call and let us help?

Well, the first thing you need to know is that the price for the cruise is the same, either way.  Secondly, we would argue that it makes more sense to let someone who has actually sailed with AmaWaterways and has been to Europe numerous times be your guide.  While the young folks sitting in the cubicles at AmaWaterways are very nice indeed, most of them can’t bring you the valuable first-hand experience we possess.

Thirdly, as we are affiliated with Virtuoso®, the world’s leading international luxury travel agency network, it is very likely that we will have complimentary VIP perks to add to AmaWaterways’ best offers.

And last, while we’re certainly capable of helping you book the perfect AmaWaterways river cruise, our goal is not to simply sell you a river cruise. Our goal is to earn your trust and to have you as a client for many years to come.  After all, you’re probably going to be looking for other travel experiences in the future.  Right?  No matter where you want to go, and how you might want to travel, we can help.  We want to be your trusted travel advisor…for life!
 
For more information, or to book a fun AmaWaterways river cruise, call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we’ll reach out to you.  
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